We use our computers every day. Whether we are checking email, browsing the web or chatting with friends, our computers are an important part of our lives. Most of us interact two ways with our computers. We have our keyboard and our mouse. They are both important for different things, but in my opinion, as long as a keyboard has all the right buttons on it, it is good enough for me. With a mouse, I am much more particular.

When you are using a mouse, you want it to have a nice, balanced weight. You need it to be comfortable so your hands do not cramp up or get sore if you are using them for extended periods. You also want it to have some nice features such as no wires, extra buttons and a good scroll wheel. Sure, without these a mouse will still work perfectly fine as an input device, but if you want more than just the minimum; you will love this list of awesome mice available for under $50.

I use this mouse every day, and I absolutely love it. I have fairly large hands, and even through it is not the biggest mouse on the market, I find it quite comfortable. It has a thumb rest, which allows you to keep your hand well situated on the mouse.

The Logitech M305 has a scroll wheel, which apart from scrolling, also clicks in and side-to-side, giving more options for storing alternate functions, such as forward and back in your web browser.

I use this mouse for everything from regular computing to playing Diablo 3, and it has not let me down yet. The fact that you can get it for less than 25 dollars on Amazon in all kinds of colors makes it a great choice. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the 4.6 customer rating on Amazon as well, so don’t just take my word for it.

This mouse is very… “interesting looking” and I almost wrote it off based on that fact alone. Upon looking a little closer however, it is actually a very good mouse, especially for anyone looking for portability.

If your everyday mouse usage involves staying at home and never taking it out on the road, there might be better choices out there. However, if you are looking for a good mix of performance, comfort and portability, you will like the Arc Mouse.

The touch part of the name comes from the touch panel on the top, which replaces the standard scroll wheel. It interacts differently with each Microsoft program, and greatly improves the functionality. Not only does this mouse fold flat for extra portability, it also has more functions than some other mice, at least with Microsoft programs.

The Arc Mouse is available for around $40, and has four star customer reviews on Amazon. For someone who is always on the go, this mouse is a great choice.

Personally, I am not a fan of trackballs, but they certainly have their use. In terms of quality, the Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball seems to be among the best. It has a 4.5 star review from 800 customers on Amazon, and it is quite reasonably priced at just under $46.

It has a comfortable thumb trackball, forward and back buttons, scroll wheel and your standard left and right-click options. It features Logitech’s ultra small USB dongle that allows you to connect up to six compatible devices to just one dongle. If you are a fan of trackballs, this is the way to go.

If your everyday life consists of mostly gaming, you are going to need a mouse with a little more precision. There are ultra expensive mice out there that perform incredibly, but not everyone is prepared to drop a couple of hundred dollars on a mouse. That is where the Logitech G400 comes in. It offers gamer performance for just under $50.

The G400 has up to a 3600 DPI optical engine, so it provides the performance that a gamer needs. It has a quick DPI switcher, so you can change it to suit your needs without stopping the action. If you are a gamer on a budget, this is the perfect mouse for you.

Yet another mouse review where around an eighth of the population are ignored, these of us who are left-handed. Did the reviewer think of asking the manufacturers of the products that were hand orientation specific whether they also produced left-handed versions, after all were a sizable minority.

Some good points, but you left out 1 thing: Service from the company if something should go bad. I've got a Logitech MK310, (bought as a keyboard/mouse pkg) back in Dec. Top quality feel and operation of both. After more than 60,000 pages of documentation I had a little trouble with some keys sticking. After just 2 phone calls to Logitech, within 4 days I a brand new keyboard and mouse at my door, no charge - even for the return shipping. A 3 year warranty, service like that, and the whole combo was only $50 when I bought it new. This wireless mouse is every bit as responsive as any I've ever used, fully customizable with their additional software that integrates flawlessly with Windows. I'll be hard pressed to use anything else ever again.. LOGITECH is hard to beat with products, software and servcie like that. You can't go wrong with them.

Good article. I always feel the differentiation between power user and gamer is unnecessary though. The Logitech G series offers such better performance for a piece of kit that most of us use for so long every day.

I have yet to find a wireless mouse that offers anything near the responsiveness of wired models - I buy one every couple of years just to see and I'm just not sure the wireless technology is fast enough.

Dave LeClair loves games on console, PC, mobile, handheld, and any electronic device that is capable of playing them! He manages the Deals section, writes articles, and does lots of behind the scenes work at MakeUseOf.